Sunday Shepherd’s Pie with Yams

Sunday Shepherd’s Pie with Yams is the third instalment in my Paleo Dude’s Guide to Cooking: a three-part series that tackles weekend cooking for the modern paleo guy. It was originally developed in collaboration with the Human Fit Project for Men’s Fitness Magazine. You can also find the recipe on MensFitness.com.

Sunday Shepherd’s Pie with Yams

Sunday’s should be about relaxing and catching up on a bit of me-time. But the old adage rings true, failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Unless you’ve got a game plan for the coming week of meals, you’re likely going to scramble for unhealthy options at the last minute. If you’ve ever meal-prepped before, you know that some foods simply don’t stand the test of time and taste goes out the window by day 2. My absolute favorite way to avoid this is to cook a big shepherd’s pie. Not only does the pie taste better the second and third day, you can portion-out individual servings and freeze them for a few weeks if needed. You can also use the time it takes to bake the pie to do something productive, like relax because it’s Sunday! Problem solved!

As with theseFridayand Saturday night recipes, swap the potatoes used in traditional shepherd’s pie recipes with Japanese yams for a delicious, low-glycemic alternative.

Method:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with a pinch of salt and add-in the cubed yams – cook until fork tender (approx. 12-15 min). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the yams to a food processor along with 1.5 tbsp ghee and a pinch of salt. Purée until very smooth. Set aside.

Heat a large Dutch Oven or heavy-bottomed stock-pot over medium-high heat. Drizzle ½ tbsp. avocado oil and add-in the ground lamb – cook until browned. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the lamb to a bowl and set aside.

Lower the heat to med-low and discard all but 3 tbsp of the rendered fat in the pot. Add-in the onion, carrot, celery and mushrooms. Cook until the carrots have softened (approx. 12-15 min), stirring occasionally. Add-in the zucchini and garlic and cook an additional 5-7 minutes.

Add-in spicy paprika, smoked paprika, onion powder, a pinch of salt and pepper, stir to coat and toast the spices for 60 seconds. Add the browned lamb back to the pot along with the chicken stock and chopped parsley. Bring everything to a steady simmer and allow the liquid to reduce by half.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Meanwhile, spoon the meat mixture into a shallow baking dish or casserole and spread mashed yams overtop. Place the baking dish onto a baking sheet to catch any spill over from the juices. (Tip: To achieve a fancier look, spread the yams using a piping bag or heavy-duty zip-top bag fitted with a metal tip.)